GLOUCESTER POLICE IMPRESSED BY ARTIC DEMONSTRATION
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—but no exemptions from winter road bans are likely
' BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
nESPITE successful and impressive
demonstrations of the Hope antijack-knife device to an audience which included a representative of Gloucester County Constabulary, it seems unlikely that the County's police will exempt vehicles equipped with such devices from the bans on artics which they impose from time to time in bad weather.
After the demonstrations, organized by H. R. Wilson Scott Ltd. at Staverton airfield last week, Sgt. D. C. Walkley of the Gloucester Constabulary's traffic department told me that he was quite impressed by what he had seen but that the tests were not completely convincing, since the conditions were not particularly severe. I understand he will be reporting favourably on the device but he said he could not see how, in the event on a ban on artics on icy roads, exceptions could he made for vehicles fitted with the Hope device; this would mean either examining individual vehicles or questioning drivers, and they did not have the manpower to operate special checks of this kind.
The tests were carried out on a straight stretch of tarmacadam airstrip "treated " by the local watercart. Hope's own AEC demonstration artic performed first, a high-speed jack-knife being provoked when the device was left disconnected. The device was then coupled up and the unladen vehicle was shown successfully braking from normal speeds and making an emergency stop front around 45/50 m.p.h.
Next a Guy Warrior tractive unit, belonging to Richard Read (Transport) Ltd., and a Merriworth semi-trailer carrying about 20 tons made high-Speed 'runs and was braked from about 45/50 m.p.h. This outfit, fitted with the Hope device. stopped in an absolutely straight line and in an impressively short distance.
The same semi-trailer was then used with a brand new Dodge D3/100 complete with Taskers coupling, taken straight from the stock of H. R. Wilson Scott; again, with the device in use. straightline braking was achieved with no breakaway.
Of the 40 or 50 people at the demonstration the majority were transport operators from Gloucestershire. Somerset and Wiltshire, who were no doubt especially interested because of the fairly regular prohibition of artics from using some hilly main roads in Gloucestershire during ice and now conditions. The chief inspector of Gloucester Constabulary's traffic department had intended to witness the demonstration but was called away on Urgent business.